Man detained following alleged stabbing at Sydney church

Australian police say they arrested a man after a bishop and three people from the church were stabbed in Sydney. No one is seriously hurt.

The incident happened on Monday evening during a church service that was being shown on TV, according to the police. The Assyrian church shows its services on the internet.

A video on social media shows a man in black clothes walking up to a religious leader at a church called Christ the Good Shepherd. He seems to stab the leader many times in the head and upper body.

People in the church are yelling and running to help the bishop. The church’s website said the bishop’s name is Mar Mari Emmanuel.

The NSW Ambulance helped a man in his 50s who had lots of cuts and took him to the hospital. They also treated three other people at the scene for one or more cuts.

“The police are coming in a big group and they want people to stay away from the area,” the police said. Many people came to the church and hospital and stood together in a group.

Chris Minns, the leader of New South Wales, said on social media that the scenes were upsetting and asked people to stay calm and support each other. Religious leaders also were surprised and expressed their sympathy.

A lot of Australians feel really surprised and upset after one person stabbed six people to death in a crowded Sydney shopping mall on Saturday. Many more people were also hurt.

It was not clear right away if the two stabbings were related.

Christ the Good Shepherd was getting ready for Palm Sunday, which is coming up later this month.

Last year, the bishop was on TV and in the newspapers all over the country.

In May 2023, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation shared a video about a campaign that was mean to hurt the LGBTQ+ community. In the video, a bishop said that if a man calls himself a woman, he is not a man or a woman, but an “it”. Since you are a machine, I will not call you a person. It’s your decision, not mine.